Not being able to hold and hug loved ones has been one of the more difficult parts of the pandemic.
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Lack of human touch can lead to greater stress, anxiety and loneliness – and that is what made the social distancing during the pandemic so hard for many.
Video chats can ease social isolation for older adults.
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Even before COVID-19, older adults were vulnerable to isolation and loneliness. Video conferencing apps can ease this. Here are some tips to help make that happen.
Face to face, virtually.
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Zoom’s privacy and security shortcomings are just the latest videoconferencing vulnerabilities. Knowing each platform’s risks can help people avoid many of the downsides of virtual gatherings.
‘Zoombombing’ trolls have started to infiltrate virtual meetings - bombarding unsuspecting victims with racist and sexist speech and in some cases, pornographic imagery.
Virtual meetings, from work chats to reading groups, have become commonplace during the coronavirus pandemic. But if you’re finding communication feels different in this setting, you’re not alone
What lecturers and students can do in the absence of the bricks-and-mortar lecturing experience.
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No longer do we need to talk with shop assistants, receptionists, bus drivers or even coworkers, we simply engage with a screen to communicate whatever it is we want to say.
The NHS has promised that by 2024, up to a third of hospital outpatient consultations will be undertaken by video link. This is unlikely to be realised quite so quickly.
From asking a partner to pick up dinner on the way home to checking in on a neighbor with health problems, we frequently face the question, ‘What’s the best way to communicate?’
Australia has one of the highest rates of pet ownership in the world and increasingly, we’re monitoring our pets’ behaviour.
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Australians are keen pet owners and increasingly, we’re monitoring the behaviour of our domestic animals. Webcams, GPS tracking, dogs joining Skype calls … pets are becoming entangled with technology in myriad ways.
While technology is not always a replacement, it can offer increased choice and flexibility.
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Smartphones, tablets and computers are increasingly expanding the availability of health services. This means we can access help anonymous at a time and place that suits us.
Life online can continue even after the real life version ends.
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Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose. So said Kevin Arnold in The Wonder Years. Now that we spend so much time online, our digital…
No hablo español. And it doesn’t matter.
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New technology has the habit of making certain professions redundant. Power looms put cotton workers out of job, leading to the rise of the Luddites. Word processors put an end to the typing pool. Now…
Ken? Ken? Are you still there, Ken?
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We all know the feeling, you’re chatting with your friend or even your boss over the internet and you interrupt them awkwardly. A silence ensues as you both try to let each other talk. Then you interrupt…
Is the digital world making communication easier or harder?
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Speech is the one of the most important forms of communication between humans. The internet has opened doors for us to communicate with people across the globe – but the technology often leads to misunderstanding…
Are traditional telephony services looking down the barrel of a gun?
Grace
If you use services such as Skype, you’ll already know about Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). This is what makes your video calls with loved ones possible, and – not least with the advent of the NBN…
Is LinkIn’s successful float a harbinger of a looming tech bubble?
AAP
LinkedIn’s highly successful share market debut on Wall Street overnight will have no doubt delighted the social networking site’s founders and investors, with the stock’s price more than doubling during…
Microsoft’s US$8.5 billion purchase: investment folly, or money well spent?
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So, Microsoft has announced it will buy Skype in a US$8.5 billion move that has left the technology and business worlds puzzled. Owners of Microsoft shares might be most puzzled of all, maybe even tearing…
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, left, has big plans for Skype.
Kimihiro Hoshino/AFP
Microsoft’s US$8.5 billion Skype acquisition, announced yesterday, gives the US software developer a golden opportunity to expand its business via the internet, including accessing and leveraging the rapidly…